Rainfall and Temperature
| It is not clear how weather patterns affect the Canberra bird population. There has, as yet, been no systematic analysis of the Garden Bird Survey data to see if there are any relationships between rainfall or temperature and the abundance of garden birds. Some patterns may be discerned, for example, the abundance of a whole range of summer migrant species was particularly high |
in 1982-83 when Canberra resembled an oasis in a drought-stricken landscape during spring and summer. However, readers might find useful some information about the variations in weather over the survey period, which could be used to help interpret some of the annual variation in the abundance of species. |
Rainfall
| Since the survey year runs from July to June, the annual average rainfall for each financial year is shown in the graph. On the whole, the rainfall throughout the period was quite steady around an annual average of about 630 mm. |
1981-82 and 1982-83 were periods of prolonged drought, with the summer of 1982-83 being particularly dry. Other dry years were 1997-98 and 1990-91. There were only two particularly wet years, 1983-84 and 1988-99. |
The graph Average Monthly Rainfall shows that over the years, Canberra gets less rain in winter, and more in late spring and summer.
Temperature
| An inland city, Canberra experiences a considerable range of temperature, although its altitude prevents temperatures from climbing too high in the summer. The average summer maximum temperatures are in the range 25 – 30 degrees Celsius, winter maximums being around 12 –15 degrees, and with winter minimums hovering around 0 degrees Celsius. |
To give some idea of how temperatures have varied over the 17-year survey period, three graphs are provided. The first is the annual average temperatures over the years. This shows which years were warmer or cooler on average. |
| 1982 was the warmest year, with an average daily maximum temperature of 21.2 degrees Celsius. This was almost three degrees warmer than 1992, a comparatively cool year. The average daily maximum temperatures in January and February 1982 averaged around 30 degrees Celsius where by comparison, January and February in 1992 were about 6 degrees cooler. The comparison of the maximum temperatures throughout 1982 and 1992 are in the graph below. |
1984 was the coldest year, with an average daily minimum temperature of 5.2 degrees Celsius. This was two degrees cooler than 1983, a comparatively mild year. June 1984 was quite cold, with daily average minimum temperatures at ‑2.7 degrees Celsius. |
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